Petrus Sanz was a Spanish missionary who was also known as the White Bishop.
Sanz came to Fujiang at the age of 35 through the Philippines.
He was deported to Guangzhou in 1724, during
Yong Zheng's ban on Catholicism. In 1730, Sanz was made acting Bishop of
Fujian by the Pope.
Sanz smuggled back to Fujiang in 1738 (during the third year of Emperor
Qian Long's reign).
In 1746, the Qing government arrested Fathers Serrano, Alcober, and Diaz in
Fujian,
and Bishop Sanz turned himself in, hoping to stop the torture of his missionary friends.
Sadly, Bishop Sanz and the four other missionaries were executed in 1748,
together with some 14 Chinese Christians. Bishop Sanz converted many Chinese to Christians,
including prison guards and even the executor who beheaded him.
They were all convicted by Sanz's joyfulness while being imprisoned and his calmness
in facing death.